Associate Professor Alexandra George

BA(Hons), LLB(Hons), LLM(Hons), MJur(Hons) (Sydney); GDLP (College of Law); PGCAP (London); PhD (ANU); FHEA

Dr Alexandra George specialises in intellectual property law. She joined the UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice in 2007, having had earlier academic appointments at Queen Mary, University of London, the University of Wales, Swansea, and the University of Exeter in the UK. She has also worked at the European University Institute (EUI), Florence, Italy and taught courses at the University of Sydney, the National University of Singapore, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. She has practised as an intellectual property and media lawyer, and continues to give legal advice on a pro bono basis through the ArtsLaw Centre of Australia (a community legal centre that supports artists). She was Associate to Justice MF Moore in the Federal Court of Australia and the Industrial Relations Court of Australia and, while studying, worked for the international news organisation Reuters.

Alexandra’s research focuses on international intellectual property and the philosophy of intellectual property law. Recent publications examine issues of jurisdiction and enforcement in international intellectual property law, and the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and intellectual property. Her philosophical research examines issues such as the metaphysics and structure of intellectual property law, and ‘property’ concepts in the commodification of intangible objects. She is currently undertaking applied research in this area. Alexandra also has an interest in Chinese law, and is a member of the Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law Centre (CIBEL) at UNSW Sydney.

Her book Constructing Intellectual Property (Cambridge University Press, 2012) examines the ways in which the legal system defines into existence and regulates intellectual property. By analyzing the metaphysical structure of intellectual property law and the concepts the legal system uses to construct 'intellectual property', the book helps to explain the role of intellectual property from a structural — rather than the traditional normative — perspective.

Alexandra was named 'Academic of the Year' at the Australian Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards (2016). She has also received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence at UNSW (2013), and a Pro Bono Award for her work for The Arts Law Centre of Australia (2016).